Our review of Yelp

     Every time I write a post it is usually about a trip we went on, a ted talk we watched, or a story from the news. I usually like these stories but I have never posted something about our discussions in class. We as a group of students and our teacher discuss over twenty different subjects weekly. I believe that is one of the most important reasons for ESL students for several reasons. First, it gives us the opportunity to learn different vocabularies from a lot of subjects. Second, it introduces us to the American culture faster than any other way. Third, even though it is only an ESL class, we actually learn things that other students may not have the opportunity to learn. For instance, we learn about politics, sports, health, psychology, food, education, culture, history, etc. Last but not least, we have the opportunity to share ideas with each other including our teacher. Sometimes the teacher introduces us to things we do not know about and sometimes it is the opposite.

     This week we had an interesting discussion about websites and companies that rate restaurants, bars, lounges, etc. Nowadays, there are thousands of them that rate and let customers rate but which one should we trust is the question. Which website is more accurate than the other? Which website will have the truth? Should we go with Google, TripAdvisor, or Yelp? From my point of view, choosing which one to take sources from depends on who posted the review. Was it someone who is out of town and he or she is used to certain type of food and service? Or was it a local person who believes that the bar down the street has a rude bartender? Deciding where to take reliable information from can be very difficult. Any how, after a long discussion in class we sort of agreed that Yelp could be the best website to take information from. 

     Yelp could be the best website for many reasons. First, if you are not an active poster on Yelp your comment will not be recommended and it will not appear. Second, what makes Yelp more accurate is that the comment cannot be removed by the business owner even if they contact Yelp. Third, Yelp still protects you somehow in a good way. If another business owner makes a bad comment about your business only to hurt your reputation, Yelp will remove his/her comment and terminate him/her as a user. Fourth, Yelp shows you the hours for the place, whether it is good for groups or not, good for children or not, where to park, whether they take reservations or not, and how expensive the place is. Last, the amount of local users for Yelp are more than any other website which makes it more accurate.

     Would you want to take advice from a person who went there once or from a local who always posts and can be trusted? Do you know of any other sites like Yelp?                          

Eating alone

       

                      

     

     Eating alone has became a fact of American life.  According to a new report by the industry trade association the Food Marketing Institute, half of all meals and snacks are eaten in solitude. In 1999 a survey found an increase in the number of people who ate alone, that tripled between the 1960s and 1990s. Also, according to the American Time Use Survey, 60% of Americans eat alone.  Every meal has become more solitary but,  breakfast is the most solitary, with 53% of respondents saying they have eaten breakfast alone.
I think the reasons for that are:

1- People are strapped for time, which means they don't have enough time.

2- People are strapped for money.

3- The increase in single/unmarried people causes people to eat alone.

4- The relationship within families has become weak.

5- Technology affects the personalty of people.

Do you eat alone?  When was the last time you ate by yourself? You can reply in the comment section. 

How to control someone else's arm with your brain

I watched a very exciting video about "How to control someone else's arm with your brain" by Greg Gage on TED. The video talked that the brain is an amazing and complex organ. 

Even though many people are fascinated by the brain, but they can't tell you much about how your brain works because they haven't been taught about neuroscience in school. The reasons are the equipment is so complex and so expensive and it's really only done at major universities and large institutions. That's a shame because one out of five of us, that's 20 percent of the entire world, will have a neurological disorder. And there are zero cures for these diseases.

Greg Gage said that when he was a graduate student, he and his lab mate Tim Marzullo decided to took this complex equipment that they have for studying the brain and made it simple enough and affordable enough that anyone could learn and actually participate in the discovery of neuroscience.

Then he did an experiment that he recorded a volunteer's brain while she control her arm by a equipment that he and his lab mate have invented called DIY neuroscience equipment.

After that he used the machine to connect the first volunteer's brain with the second volunteer's arm. Then while the first volunteer's brain control her arm, the second volunteer's arm was moving as same as the first volunteer's arm. 

I think it was amazing project and that means in the future your brain will control every things you want to.

Field Trip to National Postal Museum

Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 19th, 2015, Stratford ESL is going to visit the National Postal Museum.  The Postal Museum is located at 2 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 opposite Union Station Metro. We will meet at 10 a.m. at the Metro Station and then walk across the street to visit the museum. 





Here are some questions that can be answered in the museum.  How many are you able to answer?

1. For how much was the Hope Diamond insured when it was mailed to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958?
2. In September 1918, the U.S. Post Office sent two pilots on a path finding flight between which two U.S. cities in an effort to expand the country's airmail service? 
3. A popular style of stagecoach was used in the late 1800s throughout the American west to carry passengers and mail between towns. From which New England town did these stagecoaches take their name?
4. This actor portrayed the character "Cliff Claven," the know-it-all mailman for 11 years on the television series "Cheers." 
5. The tunnel-shaped mailbox is a common sight on America's rural roads. What year was it designed? 
6. As train traffic began to slow, Highway Post Office Service was inaugurated in 1941 to replace portions of the Railway Mail Service. When did Highway Post Office Service end?
7. Dog sleds were used to carry mail in Alaska throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. What mode of transportation eventually replaced most of the sleds? 
8. Rural Free Delivery Service began as an experimental service in West Virginia. The service became very popular, and was soon in great demand. By 1906, how many miles of American roads were covered by Rural Free Delivery Service? 
9. V-mail was the name given to a process of reproducing miniaturized messages by microphotography from 16mm film during World War II. The system of microfilming letters was based on the use of special V-mail letter-sheets, which were a combination of letter and envelope. The letter-sheets were constructed and gummed so as to fold into a uniform and distinctively marked envelope. Why were they used during the war?
10. In the 20th century, postal vehicles were first painted olive drab, then in the 1950s, red, white and blue. In what decade did they begin to be painted almost all white? 

Check your answers here.

America Houses History

Hi, I'm Phu. This week we went to the America History Museum. And I would like to share with you guys about my experiences and interests of this Wednesday field trip. There are many things that I want to share but I'm just going to talk about the history of America Houses since 200 years ago called " Within These Walls".

The house on Elm Street, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1963

The Choates' House

Revolutionaries' Home, Slave's Home

The house from the picture was built in 1760s and was taken apart and brought to the Museum by Smithsonian in 1963. So why is this house in the Museum? The reason is that it's an example of New England building practices and they wanted to save 200 years of American family stories and history.

A Reformer's Parlor

The Patriotic Kitchen

The very first family that lived there was the Choates' in 1757 - 1772. A room in the house was made to display the Choates' kitchen. After that another owner, the Dodge family, came in 1777 - 1789. It's was called the Revolutionaries' Home and the Slave's Home because Chance, Dodges' African American slave, probably lived in this white household before slavery was declared  unconstitutional in 1783. Another room was made  to display the Caldwell family's (1836 - 1865) parlor. It was the center for antislavery activity in the community and also the center of the family's religious and social life for middle class people in the mid 1800s. In 1941 - 1945, the Scott family began renting there and about that time electricity reached the house in the 1920s.Then Roy Scott installed the first toilet in the 1940s. One room was made to display the patriotic kitchen, Mary Scott's mission was to help the war by producing and conserving food and saving tin cans, foil, and leftover fat for recycling into war material on the home front during World War II. These pictures, which I took in the museum, represent each family.

American Flag Historical Facts

     This week we went to the National Museum of American History in Washington DC.  In front of the building there were two letters. One letter was written by James Smithson who dedicated his money to education.  In the Museum, I saw the history of American flag.  It had thirteen stars which represent the states and the thirteen  stripes which represent the original 13 colonies.  I think  the American flag is  the symbol of American  nation’s strength and unity.  Also, I listened to the song for the flag and I saw a lot of pictures that show how they worked hard together to make the flags in a good shape. Also, I saw the picture for the woman who made it and I saw her house. I found the Star-Spangled Banner was the inspiration for the American national anthem.  In the history of the flag are the contributions of  two women  Betsy Ross and Mary Young Pickersgill.  Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red stripes alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic. The  red color symbolizes hardiness, the white color  symbolizes chastity and, the blue color  represents justice.  

National Museum Of American History

Today we're visiting the National Museum of American History located at 14th St and Constitution Ave, NW Washington, DC 20001

For our previous post about this museum, click here

On the front of the building there are two letters.
Who wrote these letters? Why?

Here are some questions for discussion on Thursday.

• What does it mean to be American? The museum houses the original Star-Spangled Banner from the War of 1812, which was the inspiration for our national anthem; many people consider this the quintessential symbol of America. What five other objects best symbolize America to you?

• What is the essence of citizenship? What objects represent what citizenship means in American history?

• Consider costumes. How does what we wear represent who we are? Find intriguing characters in the museum and explain what their clothes say about them, or find intriguing clothes and costumes and explain what they say about their wearer or their time.

• Is there an "immigrant experience"? Find examples of immigration stories and explore what makes them similar or different.

• What does "the American dream" mean to you? What objects in the museum represent that dream? What objects represent the American dream denied or deferred?

• What is justice? What objects represent justice, or the denial of justice, to you?